BOSTON – Joe Girardi stewed inside his office for nearly four hours, long enough to conduct some research. After the Yankees captured a 9-6 victory over the Red Sox, Girardi issued a vigorous defense of third baseman Alex Rodriguez and a furious denunciation of Boston starter Ryan Dempster, who plunked Rodriguez in the second inning. This led to Girardi’s rapid ejection from the game by umpire Brian O’Nora.

“Dempster’s hit six guys in [313 innings from 2012 to 2013],” Girardi said. “He threw the first ball behind him. Intentional. He threw the next one inside. He didn’t hit him. Intentional.

“At some point, Brian O’Nora’s got to give him a warning. And he should have thrown him out of the game.”

O’Nora did neither. Instead, he ran Girardi, who went apoplectic after Dempster hit Rodriguez with a 3-0, 92-mph fastball in the left elbow and ribcage. Rodriguez exacted revenge with a rally-starting home run in the sixth inning. But still Girardi sought punishment. He wants Dempster to be suspended, and miss at least one start.

And one more thing: “I wish he had to hit,” Girardi said. “That’s what I wish.”

Players across the game dislike Rodriguez. He is baseball’s premier villain, especially as he plays while appealing a 211-game suspension. But Girardi said it was unfair for him to be targeted for utilizing the process allowed to him by the game’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“It can’t happen,” Girardi said. “You can’t just start taking pot shots because you disagree with the way the system is set up. … I want (the players) to come out (of the dugout). As I’ve said all along, you may not agree with the way Major League Baseball is handling this or that, that’s everyone’s opinion, and I respect that, I’m OK with that, but that’s your teammate, and we don’t allow people just to get plunked.”

Dempster offered a dubious defense. “I was just trying to pitch inside,” he said, which prompted laughter from the SportsCenter anchors broadcasting his comments inside the Yankees clubhouse, and disdain from the small group of players watching the television.

CC Sabathia referred to Dempster’s behavior as “bootleg.” Brett Gardner, who later put the Yankees ahead with a three-run triple, needed to be restrained by Robinson Cano during the ensuing brouhaha on the field.

“It was obvious what was going on,” Gardner said. “But we were able to come together, get fired up, and he gave up seven runs, and we got the win.”

He added, “How can you not get fired up?”

Rodriguez sounded thankful for the support. He lavished praise on Girardi, and others.

“That today kind of brought us together,” he said. “Joe’s reaction was amazing. Every single one of my teammates came up to me and said ‘Hit a bomb and walk it off.’ They were as pissed as I was.”

Rodriguez called Dempster “unprofessional.” “Whether you like me or hate me, what’s wrong is wrong,” he said. “That was unprofessional. It’s silly. It’s kind of a silly way to get somebody hurt.”

Girardi agreed. On another evening of high drama, he displayed himself once more as a staunch support of Rodriguez – even as Rodriguez begins a protracted legal battle against the team.

“You can’t start throwing at people,” Girardi said. “People have had concussions. Lives are changed by getting hit by pitches. Whether I agree with everything that’s going on, you do not throw at people and you don’t take the law into your own hands. You don’t do that.”